Gone the Way of my Sanity
by the Raven of Roses
Summary: sequel to along came a french girl. read prologue.
1. Prologue of Doomy DOOM!

Prologue of DOOMY DOOOOOOOOM!

okay, well, yeah. here i am again, writing more of these demented things we call fanfics. whoo hoo! to those of you who have read me other work, you probably are familiar with the storyline thus far. for those lazy individuals who did not realize that this is a SEQUEL, I shall provide a short summary and hope that you may take it in your head to read "along came a french girl," the prequel to this fic.

Once upon a time, there lived a man by the name of johnny c. He had the unfortunate problem of being a homicidal maniac. Or perhaps you would consider this to be a VERY fortunate problem to be suffering from. I wouldn't know. I'm not that messed up. (Well, okay, I am, but still.) Anyway, he killed people. A lot. And one day, he killed a woman who had a daughter she claimed was his. Too bad for little Nny that he failed to realize that said daughter was present at the time of killing. And even more unfortunate that he failed to realize the fact that the girl was french and could speak nothing but her native tongue.

So, yeah, he was screwed.

and thats the story thus far, i guess. i left out a lot of stuff, cuz that would give away the ending of me other fic, but whatever. anyway, i guess this is where i put that little discalimer thing so nobody sues me.

Raven does not own any of the material in this story, except for her original characters and most of the sequences of events in said story. (except for the events suggested by friends, in which case they belong to whoever was twisted enough to think them up.) Johnny the Homicidal maniac (insert copyright symbol dealie) is the property of Jhonen Vasquez, who shall soon become LORD OF ALL HUMANS! Everything else belongs to whoever it belongs to, okay? So stop trying to sue me. (shakes fist at columbia records) (I NEVER SAID I OWNED THE DAMNED BAND, OKAY? STOP CALLING ME!)

So...yep. i guess ive gotten what i needed across. uh, anyway, this takes place somewhere around three years after along came a french girl, so keep that in mind. hee hee. i like using different fonts. i shall go now before me sugar high kicks in and i becomes completeleeeeeeeeeeeeeee uncompetentness of DOOMY DOOM DOOM DOOM! whee hee! exclamaitiony goodnesssssss! i am giggling now! witness me giggling! heeeheeheeeheeheeheeeeheeeeheeeBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeeeheeeheeheeheeheehee-(falls over) ...

due to a massive concussion and severe amnesia, raven will not be joining us for some time. i have taken this opportunity as her most intelligent alter ego to rite thiss not two sai that shees knot cumin bak soone. thanck yoo ande gud nite.

Rayvn ravven Ravenn

Raven Strange, your Friendly Neptunian Psycho

Note: contrary to popular belief, THIS IS RELATED TO THE STORY. IT IS A SUMMARY. PLEASE DO NOT DELETE MY STORY AGAIN. it would be a shame to have to make a new account...

(insert exasparated sigh here) listen. if any of ya wanna protest the unfair deleting of fics, pleez help me out and contact the admin. okay? i mean, all this has to do with the story, right? I didn't add any non-story notes. in fact, this deals with the story, too! this is why im an anarchist. dude.

raven


	2. Skool Time

"Dad? Are you going out again?"

No answer. Nny was in his own little world again. Annette sighed and anticipated another night alone. The emaciated shadow of a man ignored her and moved toward the door with even more purposefulness. A small clinking sound betrayed the state of armament under his coat.

"I won't bother to wait up for you. Mind if I go up on the roof?" Again no answer. "Well, see you later, Dad."

The door slammed shut, and again Annette sighed. It was really quite annoying to live with a man that spent more time in his head than he did in reality.

"What should I do now, I wonder? Buy a pet? Kill something? Write? Talk to myself some more? Oh, the choices."

She decided, after staring at the head of a rabbit that had been on the wall for awhile, to paint. On the roof, but still, it was painting. She lugged her easel and some paints up, along with an arsenal of brushes. The sun was setting just as she opened the can of red.

"Alone, the serpent cries, deprived her sweet prey," hummed Annette, beginning the scene with a broad stroke of red, "while content rests the cat, the mouse sleeping gently ever today."

The painting took shape, the blood-red sky of sunset illuminating a ruined city swarming with monsters and nightmarish creatures scarcely to be imagined. It was almost peaceful for a post-apocalyptic scene. Nothing was being destroyed; you got the feeling that it had all been leveled long ago.

"What an interesting picture..." she murmured to herself an hour later, letting the last of the jade-hued paint dry. "But I'm still bored. I wonder if Squee's home?"

Without bothering to put away her materials, Annette took a running leap off of the roof. She landed in a crouch on the windowsill of a room on the second floor of the next-door house. A quick breath and she knocked on the glass.

"What the-Annette? What the hell are you doing here at this time of night?" Squee threw open the window and helped her into his room.

"Father went out again, and I'm bored. I don't really have anyone else to talk to. What are you doing?"

"Um, I have a history essay due tomorrow. I'm working on it now. It's about the French Revolution."

"Oh, how fun! May I help?" Annette darted over to the computer sitting in a corner. "That's not how you spell Bastille, you know."

"Um...okay. I guess you would know this stuff, wouldn't you?" Squee sat down at his desk once more and began to type, Annette murmuring her comments and corrections in his ear.

A long time later, there was the sound of a door slamming shut. Nny was back, apparently. Annette didn't bother to leave, as he probably wouldn't notice her absence anyway, that or care. Besides, it was fun helping people with history, especially with HER country's history.

"Hey, Annette, has Nny said anything about you going to skool here?"

The now-twelve-year-old girl nodded. "Yes, he says that I'm to start skool in September. Why?"

"Well, it's August. I'd have thought you'd be more worried about getting what you needed, or at least about whether you'll make any friends on your first day."

"Why should I bother to make friends with the sniveling little children when I already have much more mature, interesting amis?" Annette's huge violet eyes were utterly blank, devoid of any expression at all.

"Uh, well, because you're twelve. You should be talking to other twelve-year-olds. It's not good for you to only talk to older people. You have to learn to get along with other people your own age too. It's like a growing up thing."

"But I'm already much more mature than any of the children. I don't want to suffer in their inadequate company. They're disgusting little leeches, never doing anything themselves. They've grown fat and lazy on their parents' constant attention and catering. I'd much rather be alone than deal with the defective products of doting simpletons."

"Those are some pretty big words for a kid, Annette. Are you sure you feel this way? Nny didn't just tell you this, did he?"

"I'm sure that I feel this way. I do not even understand why it is that I must go to skool. I already understand most of the material that you go through."

"It's kind of illegal for kids to not go to skool."

"Laws are meant to be bent and broken."

The chillingly deadpan way in which Annette said these words was enough to give Squee pause. And let us not forget that this young man had seen a lot in his short life. Yet the seemingly innocent child was speaking in a way that scared Squee. This wasn't a first, but he still wasn't used to it.

"Hey, Annette, it's almost sunrise. You should get going."

"Whatever you say. Adieu, then."

"Salut."

Annette smiled and left the way she'd come. She had much to do before Nny registered her presence.

"Hello? Is Raven-"

"This IS Raven, idiot. How's it going, Annie?"

"Well. Ca va?"

"Eh, you know. The norm. Where's Nny? He isn't dead, is he?"

"Of course not. He's just sleeping. Sort of. I had to put sleeping pills in his brainfreezy. He hasn't closed his eyes more than a second in months. Anyway, I just wanted to talk. I haven't had much contact with people for a time."

"Well, okay. What did you wanna talk about?"

"Anything. Everything. Nothing. Something to get my mind off of things. The noise starts up in my head if I don't keep some sort of distraction going."

"Okay, then. Uh, you said last time you went to Hot Topic that you were starting skool in September. Nervous yet? It's only a couple weeks away."

"Not especially. I don't really get nervous. In fact, I'm not sure how much I CAN do in the emotional field of things. Squee thinks I should make friends with the children in my class. I actually find myself wondering if I might be able to identify more with the teacher than the students."

"That might just be the case, but you really should try to get along with the kids. After all, you'll have to deal with them for nine months, so you may as well be on good terms with most of them."

"I suppose it sounds logical..."

"God, girl, you sound like Nny. Then again, you're just learning English, so I suppose you'd kind of pick up your teacher's speech pattern."

"Yes. People tell me I talk like him. I find it amusing. Speaking of, he seems to be stirring. I put him in the living room, and I think I just heard something shatter. He must be angry."

"Maybe you should go, then."

"Yes, I believe that would be best...Salut, Raven."

"Salut, Annie. Good luck at skool if I don't see you before then!"

"Merci. Au revoir."

Annette hung up, then smiled. Nny was definitely angry. No matter. At least he might talk to her now. She rose and left her room, pausing before entering the living room. Nothing had been thrown yet, as far as she could tell, but still.

"Nny?"

"What the hell did you do to me?"

"You fell asleep. It's good for you." Annette took the silence after her comment as an invitation to enter. "How are you feeling, father?"

"My head is killing me. I need to take a walk or something."

"Can I come with you tonight?"

"What?" Confusion threw more shadows over her father's face.

"When you leave tonight, may I accompany you? I'm itching to get out of the house."

"Yes, fine, whatever. Just bring your friends."

Her "friends" were the two dolls she had acquired soon after she began her stay with Nny. Their names were Jack and Sally, and they each held one of the bone-handled daggers that Nny had given Annette for her ninth birthday. She brought them everywhere, because who on Earth would suspect that a little girl with a pair of dollies could be lethal?

"Of course, Father."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry, Nny. Habit."

"Whatever. Can you leave me alone for awhile? I need to go do some...eh, stress relief."

"Room Fifteen is full again. The blond is scared of snakes," Annette informed him, knowing full-well what her father meant.

"Thank you."

The door to the basement creaked shut, and almost immediately the screaming started. Annette waited for a minute, then followed. It always fascinated her to watch Nny work.

He had heard her, apparently, since the door to room fifteen was open. Inside were the two dozen irritants that he had caught in the past few weeks. You could tell that the ones on the walls were relieved that he hadn't chosen them to "teach." The blond was strapped to a wicked-looking device full of sharp edges in the middle of the room.

"Pleez," she moaned, trying to speak around her forked tongue and the various metal objects forcing her mouth open. "Oh, gud, pleez lemmee gow...uh din meen i, awness! Pleez lemmee gow..."

"You should have thought of that BEFORE you insulted me. You don't regret it at all, do you? You're just pissed as hell that you didn't get away with it. Well, my pretty little friend, you really should have watched your forked tongue. You're a viper, you know that? I should put you with the other vipers. I'm sure you'd all get along alarmingly well. _Painfully_ well, in fact. Yes, I do think the vipers will like you. Or perhaps not. Either way, it's not my problem after that. Come along, what was your name again?"

"I num ih Ssindee. Pleez, pleez lemmee gow...I beggun oo."

"Too late for that, I'm afraid, Cindy. I've already done so much damage, it'd be mean to let you live. Besides, the wall needs a fresh coat of paint."

He removed the girl's restraints with a practiced ease and took her by the hair, the hair he'd left perfectly intact for some reason. She screamed and struggled, but the frail appearance of her captor masked a fearsome strength, and she couldn't twist out of his grip. Nny dragged her into the corner where a large box was hissing and shaking. Cindy started screaming again.

Annette watched, silent, as Nny nailed the lid to the box shut. Cindy was shut inside, screaming and pleading away. It amused Annette to see the woman's futile attempts to garner sympathy from a man that barely knew emotion, let alone sympathy. She smiled when the screams stopped. It must have been the poison finally taking effect. The woman must have been bitten dozens of times. What a horrible way to die.

And Annette could barely suppress a maniacal giggle of glee.

Nny gave the box one more disgusted glance before moving on to one of the other guests, a skinny, obviously-crack-addicted teenage boy. The show was over. Annette gave a sigh of disappointment and left as quietly as she'd come.

Much later, Nny left the basement and began to gather his things. Annette fetched weapons for him, including a half-dozen sporks and several daggers. She was happy just to be able to accompany him on his little walk. He paid little attention to her, but that was fine as far as Annette was concerned.

"Where are we going, Nny?"

"I don't know. Wherever. Doesn't matter. Just as long as it's away from here."

"Okay. Just wondering."

They left the house, Annette staying two paces behind her father at all times. It was a system they'd used for going on three years, and so far it had worked. Jack and Sally were clutched in Annette's hands, their feet just barely trailing on the ground. A little girl following her daddy down the street. Perhaps they were on their way to a movie.

Annette felt for the knives hidden under the dolls' clothing. Yep, still there. If anyone pissed her off, they would really get more than they had bargained for.

"Can we go see an movie?" asked Annette awhile later, after Nny had taken care of a good few irritants in a back alley.

"If you really want to. Which one?"

"They're having a midnight showing of _The Grudge_ at the little theater by all the cafes. How about it?"

"Sounds good." Nny abruptly turned a corner and headed toward a section of town that he only visited when Annette was accompanying him.

Annette was happier than she'd been in a long time. The movie was awesome, even though she'd seen it many times. That little boy never failed to scare her, as cute as he was. Nobody bothered her or Nny, although there was quite a commotion in the lobby when a rather annoying kid at the refreshments counter had his throat slit. Apparently the boy had been rude to Nny or some such thing. Still, it was a pleasant enough evening.

They arrived back at sunrise, and almost immediately Annette went to her room and fell asleep. She was too far gone to notice when Nny came in and awkwardly pulled the blankets up to her shoulders.

Then it was quiet. Nny went back into the living room and turned on the television. Nothing on but an old episode of Cops. And when you've seen one episode, you've seen them all. There was nothing to do but go downstairs and preach some more.

An hour later, Nny returned to the couch. The bible saleskid hadn't even screamed. All he had done was keep trying to get him to join some church about a guy named Jehovah or something. Even cutting out his tongue wouldn't make him shut up. It was all really very annoying, not satisfying at all.

"Dammit. What am I going to do now?"

The sun rose. A bloody red glow bathed the room, making the scarlet glisten on Nny's clothes. He absent-mindedly ran a finger down the side of his face, smiling at the bright red that came away. The wall was very happy, even if Nny himself was not.

Annette made a fitful noise from the other room. She must be having nightmares again. It happened every summer since she had...turned up. By now they'd grown used to it, and Annette was even in the habit of relaying her dreams to Nny. He smiled at the whimpering sounds and anticipated another interesting story over breakfast.

"Let's get skool supplies today."

This was Annette speaking over the din of screams downstairs one day. She handed Nny a screwdriver and glanced at the blind face of a policeman who was being nailed to an autopsy table. The man screamed a wordless animal plea as the tip of the screwdriver got closer and closer to his throat. Annette looked away. The blood didn't bother her, nor the screams, but a person's organs were private in Annette's opinion. They weren't meant to be removed and shown around.

"Why?" There was a tearing noise, and Nny swore. "Dammit...he wasn't supposed to move...Anyway, why would you want to get skool supplies?"

"Because I start skool on Tuesday. It's already Friday. If we don't go this weekend, I won't have any notebooks or folders or anything!"

The cop, who wasn't quite dead yet, listened to this perfectly civil conversation with an air of disbelief. How the hell would this little kid not be terrified to death of that creature? Yet she was acting like the talk was taking place at some normal location like the breakfast table. His final thought was _That is one dysfunctional family._

Nny looked down distastefully at the dead cop. He hastily made a long gash in the man's throat and turned him over to let the blood drip into a bucket on the ground. This would take awhile. Perhaps a trip was appropriate.

"Fine, fine. But where are we going, exactly?"

"How about Hot Topic? Tenna said they have a lot of skool stuff there."

"Alright. Do you remember how to get there?"

"Uh...non, je regret."

"Well, I remember how to get to the mall at least. You can find your way from there, right?"

"Yes, I believe so."

Nny nodded and removed his blood-covered gloves. He didn't bother to do anything to clean up, though, so really the only thing now that wasn't blood-splattered was his hands. Annette gave a squeak of delight and bounded up the stairs, already thinking of what she would get for skool.

Ten minutes later, Annette danced into Hot Topic, already at home in the dim, noise-filled store. Tenna waved excitedly at her from the counter and poked Raven, who smiled and greeted her. Nny sauntered in after the girl, warily glancing at everyone in the place like they would attack him.

"Hi, Annie! How are you?" Raven called over the din of Zombie.

"I'm well, thanks. You?"

"Good, good. Whatcha need?"

"I'm here for skool supplies."

"Awesome! What grade were you going into again?"

"Ninth."

"Really? Weird. You're not old enough, are you?"

"The skool administrators decided I'd be better suited for a higher grade level."

Tenna popped up behind Annette and led her away, chattering excitedly about what she should get for skool.

"Ooh, you'll need notebooks and pencils and a bunch of folders and some paper and-wait, how about Emily? There's a lot of her stuff here. Or Zim. I dunno. Maybe Happy Bunny? Oh, the possibilities are ENDLESS!"

"Alright, Tenna. Do not become too ecstatic; you'll burst a blood vessel."

"Hey, Nny. How's the kid behaving?" Raven smiled at her acquaintance and rolled her eyes. "What's that on you, stage blood?"

"No, it's quite real. There was some trouble with a law enforcement officer earlier. And Annette is behaving quite well, though she isn't above slipping sleeping pills in my brainfreezies. She seems to think I need the sleep."

"Well you do, you know. She seems to be a little overwhelmed, eh? Poor kid. Tenna had five cups of coffee earlier, so she's a little wired."

"A little? I'd say she's about ready to O.D. If she dies, can I-"

"No, Nny. You can't cut her open. It's not good for business. Speaking of, please don't kill anything in or near here, okay? My boss will fire my arse if I have one more incident on the job."

"I promise not to kill anything. But can I hurt them a little?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, I'll just have to make do. You seem nice; Annette would be upset if you died suddenly."

"Can't have the girl upset now, can we?" Raven's perspiration had taken a definite turn for the worse.

"At any rate, she seems happy enough now. I think Tenna's caffeine buzz is wearing off."

"You guys should stop by the dorm sometime. We're all at the college outside of town. Carpe Noctem, it's called."

"Like the magazine?"

"Yeah. Seize the night, and all. It's an arts skool for Goths and freaks. We're dorm thirteen oh six."

"I'll remember that. Here's Annette. She looks like she's bought out the store."

"You DO have money with, correct?" Suspicion narrowed Raven's black eyes to the point of full closure.

"Yes, of course."

"Aw, well, I'll still give you the employee discount, okay? It's twenty percent off today. You picked a good time to do some shopping." She rang up the multitude of supplies, shook her head at the still-astronomical total of it all, and threw everything into a few of the biggest bags they had behind the counter. "Have a nice day, you two."

"Merci. Salut, Raven. Salut, Tenna."

"Goodbye, girls."

"Bye, Annie! Bye, Nny! Good luck at skool, Annie!" Tenna grinned and waved before losing interest and becoming entranced with a display of ragdolls in the back of the store.

Annette was as happy as could be. Her loose pigtails bounced up and down in time to her skittering gait, and the smile on her face nearly split her head in half. Nny found it amusing to watch her stumble everywhere, tripping over her own feet and bounding away again, giggling insanely. For the first time in a long time, she looked like a normal little girl walking through the mall with her father.

Albeit the father was covered in what looked suspiciously like blood and had a mass of raw scratches on his face and arms, but still. That was about as normal as you could get. Anyway, they were back at the house in another ten minutes, and Nny went back downstairs.

So Annette was left to herself again. She immediately went about sorting through her skool supplies, separating the notebooks and folders from everything else. Her pen paused over the front cover of an Emily the Strange notebook. Hesitantly, she wrote in her careful script:

Antoinette

But something wasn't quite right. What was her last name? Should she go with her mother's surname? What was Nny's surname, anyway? She settled for what she knew.

Antoinette C.

That looked okay. It still was a little strange, but what else would she do? The skool would likely have her listed under Nny's surname anyway. She repeated the name on all of the notebooks and folders, a slow icy nervousness creeping over her. Would the other children like her? What if they all labeled her a child and resented her intelligence? How would she deal with-

But the skool had placed her in French. At least she would know the teacher. It was still the one that Squee had had for French. She would be able to talk fluently there. Her other classes might cause problems...

Supposing she couldn't understand the teachers? What if they all talked too fast? Nny had developed a sort of mixed dialect including many French words along with English. He talked relatively slowly, anyway. Annette had trouble understanding Tenna, and she still talked slower than a lot of Americans she had heard while walking about the city. And if Annette couldn't understand the teachers, they might fail her and send her back to the middle skool. That would probably kill her, as the younger children were probably even less likely to accept a foreign student.

But it was probably nothing. The students would probably just glance at her and leave her be. Still, though, there were always the possibilities...

Annette jolted upright. She had slumped to the floor somehow, and the sun had set. She must have fallen asleep. That was uncharacteristic of her. She capped her pen lest it dry out and decided to go to bed. Her insomnia was obviously subsiding, and sleep was just what she needed.

"Will you be alright, Annette?"

The girl started. Apparently, they were at the skool. She smiled and nodded mutely, clutching the strap of her messenger bag in a death-grip.

"You know if anyone bothers you that you can tell me. I'll deal with the irritants for you. Do you have your friends?"

"Yes..." Annette swallowed audibly. "Bye, Dad."

"Goodbye, Annie. Good luck."

_Did he just call me Annie?_ Annette grinned and hopped out of the car, her morale somehow restored by the simple goodbye. He'd noticed her. He'd actually been paying attention. And he had cared.

But then she was in the building, a monster of a skool with harsh bricks and graffiti covering everything within reach. The most common phrase seemed to be "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." This was not a very comforting idea.

And then there were the people. So many of them, almost everyone taller than she was. At twelve, Annette was much smaller than the average eleven-year-old. The few people who WERE shorter than her were hanging out with the tallest teenagers in the skool, so they had no chance of being tormented. But little Annette had no one.

Being as how her locker seemed to be big enough for her to fit into, Annette decided to just keep all her things with her at all times. No way was anyone going to shove HER into her locker.

Her first stop was Administration. She received her schedule, a student planner, and a map of the skool. Then she was sent on her way and left to figure things out for herself. Some help they were. As it was, she found her way to her first class without much trouble.

And what a disaster. The teacher spoke so quickly, Annette barely had time to register that her name was being read off. After that, nobody wanted to talk to her or even look at her. Flickers of conversation washed over her, mindless chatter about what so and so did over break and who got the most drunk at the fourth of July party at Lindsey's house. There was no mention of Annette. Why should there be? She never went to parties, never talked to anyone around her age.

Second hour wasn't much better. Granted, it was French, but all that really happened was that the teacher told her that she'd be helping grade papers and correct pronunciations on speaking exercises. Again, no one bothered to talk to her.

Annette got lost on the way to her third period class. A senior girl pointed her in the right direction but refused to give specific directions, so Annette was late. She was in tears by the time she made it to Choir.

The girl found her in the corner, crying silently to herself and hugging two ragdolls to her chest. She had long, bright purple-black hair that went down to her elbows, though with the cornrows it seemed shorter. A pair of sharp icy blue eyes took in the whole situation in a glance, and black-painted lips curved into a small smile.

"Hello. You look very sad. What's wrong, little one?"

"D-don't call me that. Je-je name is Antoinette. Comment t-t'appelles-tu?"

"I'm Ben. Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're here! But seriously, why are you freaking out on me?"

"Why are you glad I'm here?"

"You speak my language, girl! Now tell me what's up. I've been watching you today, and you seem really freaked out."

" Nobody here is talking to me. They won't help me, either. It's like I'm being ignored and loathed. I'm so scared of them. Help me, please! The teachers talk too fast. I can't understand them. Why is your name Ben? I thought that was a masculine name... "

"Poor thing, being ignored all day. And as for me name, my dad thought I was a boy. Rather funny story, but that'll be for another time. Do you wanna go into the hall and talk for awhile or something?"

"Okay. But don't call attention to us, alright? I don't want anyone thinking I'm weak."

"Don't worry about it. Hey, teach! Can I go outside with the new kid? She can't understand much English and I need to help her sort out some stuff."

"Go ahead, Ben."

"See? That easy. Come on, Annie. You don't mind if I call you Annie, do you?"

"Not at all."

Ben led her out into the hallway outside the cafeteria. The first lunch of the day was starting, and a large group of students thundered past their hiding-spot by the music wing doors.

"It's loud here, but nobody will overhear. I love sitting out here whenever I possibly can. There's so many people to watch. Are you feeling any better now?"

Annette nodded. "I just had to get away from the students...They scare me. I hate being left out of everything. My...father just decided to send me to skool. I've been in the country for about three years now, but my English wasn't that great. What? Why are you staring at me?"

Ben, who had been looking intently at Annette, smiled and looked away. "Nothing. It's just interesting. You're speaking French, but every now and then you throw in an English phrase or word. You live in an English-speaking house or something? Classic 'Mom's French but Dad's American' sitch?"

"Sort of. My mother...erm, had an accident three years ago. My father got custody after she died-they were divorced. We've sort of worked out a system of French and English that we both understand for the most part. My apologies if it irritates you."

Ben grinned again. "No, it's okay. Hey, Annie, want to meet my friends?"

"Okay."

Ben stood and took off, Annette trotting along behind.

"You know, I'm really supposed to be a sophomore, but they held me back because I failed too much stuff. You look too young to be in hi skool. What's your story?"

"I, um, should really be in seventh grade, but they decided I'm too intelligent for middle skool. I'm fine with it, as I probably would have had a harder time in middle skool anyway. Who are your friends, now?"

"Hey, guys, I got a new kid for you to meet. A brainiac freshie. Say hi, Annie."

Ben gestured to a group of kids sitting nearest to the ramp at the cafeteria's exit. They were all in various stages of Goth and Punk, most with dyed and/or wildly cut hair and lots of chains. Annette felt at home immediately.

"Hey, Annie. You're a short kid, you know?" The teenager nearest Annette, obviously a senior, grinned and offered a chain mail-encircled hand. "Name's Eric. Nice to meetcha."

"Erm, hello. I am Antoinette." Annette bowed slightly and took the offered hand with only brief hesitation.

"Hey, I'm an Antoinette, too!" A girl with black-lined eyes and blue hair gave an amused snort of laughter. "Call me Toni."

"Thomas." A kid with shaggy black hair grinned and gave a small bow. "Eric's right. You ARE short."

"Don't scare her off, Tommy. She's obviously a child genius. Don't mind him, Annie. He likes to play games. I'm Remi. Yeah, a guy's name, I know, but my parents did the same thing Ben's dad did. Parents can be idiots sometimes." Remi shook her bright red bangs out of her eyes and smiled.

"Konnichiwa. I am Kayako. Nice to meet another foreign girl like myself. How are you, hon? Want something to eat?"

Annette stared, wide-eyed, at Kayako and her black mass of tangled hair that partially hid eerily green eyes. A moment of stillness, and Annette shook her head. Then her stomach rumbled loudly, and everyone cracked up.

"I like the kid already. Eric, go get the girl something good. Whatcha want, sweetheart?" Thomas gave the girl a wolfish grin. "Fries? Cookie? Vodka?"

It took Annette awhile to work out what he'd said. Her face reddened, and she quietly requested fries. Eric nodded and darted off, disappearing before she realized he'd left.

"Well, Annie, looks like you've got some people to talk to, eh?" Ben grinned and motioned for Annette to sit down. Ben opted to sit on Thomas' lap, throwing an arm around his shoulder to steady herself.

"How's your first day going, Annie?" asked Kayako, keenly eyeing the cookie on Toni's tray for a moment before returning her gaze to Annette.

"Um..."

"Poor thing's got a bit of a problem. Nobody wants to talk to her." Ben made a sad face and shrugged. "Well, I'm in most of her classes, so she'll probably be okay. What class do you have next, Annie?"

"It says Honors Algebra 2."

"Dammit. Anybody have that next hour?"

"You mean with Browning?"

"Yeah, that's what her schedule said."

"Nope, sorry."

"Don't think so."

"Sorry."

"No..."

"I do."

Annette turned to see a very tall boy staring at her. He tossed his books onto the table in front of Annette and gave her an annoyed look. She squeaked and stood up to let him sit down. The kid's elbow-length hair brushed Annette's arm, momentarily blocking her vision.

"Hey, Wolfgang, you're here!" Ben hugged the boy, not noticing the look of disgust on Wolfgang's bony face. "That was Annie that you glared at, you know. She's a new kid. Poor thing, nobody wanted to talk to her. Say hi, Wolfie."

Wolfgang turned around and gave Annette the once-over. Piercing violet eyes mirrored Annette's blank stare for a time before he smiled. Instantly, the spell of hostility was shattered.

"Hey, Annie. Let me guess, Antoinette, right? Yeah, thought so. You've got Browning? I'll escort you to the classroom. Ben, you can bring her to the commons, right? I'll be by the stairs. Who the hell let you into hi skool, anyway, Annie? You'll get killed if you don't have an armed escort at your side at all times."

"How reassuring. Please don't talk to fast. I'm not used to it yet."

"Sorry, kid. Hey, want to sit down?"

Annette looked around. "There's no seats left."

"I don't bite, kid. I swear. Don't freak out on me, Annie. You're really human-phobic, aren't you? Does it make you feel better to know I'm from Neptune?" Wolfgang grinned, giving rise to the image of his namesake.

Annette hesitated, shrugged, and accepted the offer. It made her feel like a small child to be sitting on someone's knees, but at least the height difference was reduced a little. Eric came back with the fries, which Annette shared with Wolfgang, seeing as how he hadn't gotten a lunch. Time slowly passed.

"Wolfgang." Annette repeated the name as if trying to make sure she'd articulated it correctly. "I like that name. German, correct?"

"Yeah. Means something like 'the path of the wolf.' I always thought it'd be funny if I turned out to be a werewolf. Turns out I'm just an alien."

"Don't listen to Wolfie. He likes to pretend he's an alien to creep people out." Ben shook her head and stole the cookie Kayako had been eyeing. "It's really kind of funny to see the normals run away screaming, though."

Wolfgang rested his chin on top of Annette's head, letting his hair drape over the girl's shoulders. It gave them the appearance of being a two-headed monster, accented by the catlike pupils of the former's eyes. Annette growled and punched him. Wolfgang got a good laugh out of that, even when he was clutching his possibly-dislocated shoulder.

Then again, everyone else got a kick out of it-literally and figuratively.

"Don't mess with me. Ever." Annette's eyes blazed momentarily. "My father doesn't like it when people bother me."

"What's he gonna do, kill us?" Eric laughed.

"Yes. Yes, he will. How do you think my mother died?"

It went completely silent at the table. Two minutes later, everyone breathed a simultaneous gasp of amazement and jealousy.

"Are you serious? God, my parents are just accountants!" exclaimed Ben.

"Dude, I wish I had a dad like that." Eric's eyes glazed over as he entered a daydream about mass murder.

"I'd love to have a father who understood my homicidal urges..." That was Kayako speaking with a smile on her face.

"Can I move in?" Wolfgang's expression was dead serious, but his eyes betrayed the jest.

"Man, why can't my parents be like that?" Toni stole Ben's soda, probably to get back at her for the theft of her cookie.

"Actually, it's really very dull around home. I was essentially on my own for three years. Father never paid much attention to me. But at least he let me dress the way I wanted. His friend Squee was surprised at my choice of style. I suppose it's not often you see an eight-year-old Gothic girl walking around. And I'm sorry, Wolfgang, but Nny likes his privacy. He would be annoyed to have anyone else around."

"Eh, no problem, kid. Squee, huh? I think I remember him. Kind of small, black hair, skittish look on his face?"

"Yes, that is him. He lives next door to me."

"Nice kid. He graduated last year, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he's in college with Mimi."

"Oh, now I remember. It was that Carpe Noctem place, right?"

"Yep. With Tenna and the girls."

"Cool. Those four were weird."

"Erm, not to interrupt, but the majority of students seem to have left the cafeteria." Annette glanced around the rapidly-emptying room.

"Eh, don't worry, kid. We got ten minutes to get to class. Come on, Annie, wanna see more of the skool? They'll never miss ya in Choir."

Suddenly, Annette found herself sitting on Wolfgang's shoulders, and the whole group was moving toward the ramp. She mumbled some protest before they left the cafeteria, then settled back to enjoy the view. with the added six and a half feet of height, Annette could see almost to the other end of the skool. Masses of blurry faces swam past, and a deafening mix of conversations made her feel slightly dizzy.

Wolfgang swung her back down before he went into a classroom in the wing labeled "B." She felt a strange rushing sensation as her body tried to reestablish equilibrium, but she was fine after a moment.

"Here we are, kid." Wolfgang grinned and turned to leave. "See ya, guys. Annie, make sure you wait for me in the commons after third hour. I'll take you to algebra. And Ben, make sure you don't ditch her. Bye, guys. By the way, Toni, history test. Be prepared. It's murder."

The group waved and dispersed, and after a moment it was time for Annette and Ben to leave as well. The teachers might miss them if they were gone for too long. A mad dash back to the room, and they found that the class was still on one of those annoying "get to know you" games.

"Those people seemed nice enough," murmured Annette once the two had regained their seats in the back row. "I am glad to have made friends already."

"Yeah, well, you're little. It's like a little sister, ya know? We have the whole protect the children thing going. Still, it ain't often that a freshie gets accepted on their first day. I think they like ya." Ben slumped down in her seat and grinned. "Good work, kiddo."

"Thank you. Er, where am I supposed to meet Wolfgang, now?"

"I'll show ya. It's the commons, a little open area around the lockers that the freaks like us hang out in. Dammit, we still got an hour until class gets let out."

"Yes, well, the teachers are distracted enough. Care to talk more?"

"Yeah, sure. So, how's life?"

"...Abnormal. How is your life?"

"It's life, ya know? So what's up with you that made you say it's abnormal?"

"Living with an insomniac can be very interesting."

"Is that...blood on your arm?"

"Yes, I believe so. A convenience store clerk was being rather uncivil to my...father earlier. He became angry and put a spork through the man's skull."

"Wow. You serious, kid?"

"Yes, of course. Why would I be joking?"

"Because that's a pretty harsh thing to do."

"Is it? The man was very irritating."

"You are one warped little girl, you know that? I think I'm going to like you."


	3. Craziness and more Skool Stuffs and Kaya...

Third hour ended, and Annette found herself in the crowded lunchroom. People everywhere. So much noise. Ben was there, but the feeling of claustrophobia was still overwhelming.

"Hey, Annie," called Ben over the din. "Annie, you have lunch money?"

"Non..."

"Well, whatever. I'll get you something to eat. How's a bagel sound?"

"That sounds good, I suppose. Where shall we sit?"

"See those soda machines over by the ramp? Wait for me right behind the machines, in that window. I'll get us some food. Now don't move from that spot, okay?"

"Oui, mon amie."

Ben nodded and darted off. Annette gave a shiver and headed for the soda machines. It was much quieter there, and even though the window behind the machines faced a main set of doors, no one was leaving or entering the building during the lunches. She set her bag down on the heating vent that made up the windowsill and sat down behind the monster vending machines. It took a short time for Ben to get back, and when she did she had a heaping tray of food.

"Bon appetite, kiddo."

Annette politely accepted some of the food, deciding that the quality of the stuff was much better than convenience store food. Ben seemed amused at her reluctance to take anything, and in the space of a minute she had handed Annette a can of soda and a cookie along with her bagel.

"God, kid, you're skeletal! Have you even eaten this week?"

"Yes, I had those fries earlier."

"I mean besides that! Does your dad starve you or something?"

"No, but he isn't exactly the model father figure."

"Poor you. Eat fast, Annie. Lunch flies by pretty quick. In fact, finish that soda now, cuz we should really get going."

"I'm done. I never eat much at a time anyway."

Ben slipped the cookie into a pocket of Annette's bag and dumped the tray in the garbage. Then she was back at the girl's side, waiting for her to gather her things so they could leave.

"Come on, Annie. Let's go before they kick us out."

Ben led the way, dodging and weaving through the crowd in a manner much more graceful than anything Annette could ever attempt. It was all she could do to keep up. But at any rate, they arrived quickly to the place Ben had called the commons.

And Annette could tell that she'd come home. Everyone in the place either wore black or had their hair as freakish as it could get, and there were conversations going on about swords and murder and anarchy. She smiled and let the dark vibe of the commons wash over her.

"Welcome to the commons, Annie. We'll wait here for Wolfie; he usually pops up pretty quick. You need to make sure one of us is with you at all times, okay? A lot of people here would try to stuff you in a trash can if you're caught alone."

Annette felt a small tap on her head, and when she turned around, Wolfgang had somehow snuck up behind her. The small squeak of surprise that escaped her mouth amused him, if the scary grin on his face meant anything. Ben laughed and shook her head despairingly.

"Dude, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that! You're supposed to be the kid's bodyguard, not her _tormentor!_ Eh, whatever. You gonna be okay, Annie?"

"Yes, of course."

"Alright. I gotta go. My next class is back by the cafeteria. See ya." Ben grinned at Annette's worried expression. "Don't worry, Annie. The boy might LOOK pretty freaky, but he'll take good care of ya."

And she darted off.

"Well, then, Annie-" Wolfgang's eyes were clear and friendly. "-let's get to class, shall we? Going up."

And Annette was sitting on his shoulders again, her bag slung over Wolfgang's shoulder. They started off with a speed that slightly startled the girl, as someone as tall as Wolfgang was not expected to move so quickly. They were at the classroom in a matter of seconds, though it was upstairs and halfway back down the skool.

"And just in time," was the teenager's comment when they entered the room. The bell rang as if on cue, and Annette grasped his hand tightly, not sure what to do.

"Class, find your seats. If there's a problem, talk to me." The teacher, an older woman who looked very bored, waved at a chart on the overhead.

Annette was dismayed to find that she had been placed on the opposite side of the room from Wolfgang. Her huge eyes threatened to overflow, and she refused to let go of her friend's hand. He noticed the source of her fright immediately and led her over to the teacher's desk.

"Mrs. Browning," Wolfgang called over the chatter, "there's a problem, here."

"What is it? Oh, hello, little girl. Is this your sister, young man?"

"No, she's a student, the foreign girl. Antoinette's her name, and she's freaking out. Can you move her over to the desk next to mine?" His cool gaze rested on the teacher's a foot below.

"Well, are you sure it would make her distressed if she wasn't moved?"

"Please, Madame, I'm very frightened of all the people. May I sit by Wolfgang?" Annette bit her lip and moved a little closer to the boy.

"Well, I suppose so. But if there are any problems, be sure to tell me, okay, Antoinette?"

"Oui, Madame."

"Alright, then. Jake, I'm switching you to the desk over there. Go, hurry. We have to get started. Go sit down, you two. Are you happy now? You know, most kids would have wanted to get farther away from the teacher's desk."

"I don't mind, Madame. Thank you very much. I won't cause problems, I promise."

"Man, Annie, can you say conformity? 'I won't cause problems, I promise.' Are you planning on killing her or something?" laughed Wolfgang when they took their seats.

"I just want to avoid trouble is all. It wouldn't do to get on the teacher's bad side on the first day of class."

"Yeah, well, whatever works for you, I guess." Wolfgang had conveniently forgotten to bring anything to class, and a teacher like that one wasn't likely to give the class a free day because of the new skool year.

"Thank you for being kind to me. I hope I'm not a bother-"

"Can you quit the proper grammar crap? We're not in English, you know."

"My apologies. I am still learning English, and my...father speaks much like this. He curses more, though," she added as a sort of side note.

"You scare me."

"Thank you."

Wolfgang just shook his head and looked up at the blackboard. A muttered curse, and he dug in his pockets for a pen. Annette handed him one, and he proceeded to scrawl something on his hand.

"Looks like we've got textbooks." Annette glanced into the depths of her bag. "I hope all my things will fit..."

A boy seated across the aisle did a double-take. He peered closely at Annette, then grinned evilly and elbowed his friend. They both gave her a nasty look before starting in on the torment.

"Hey, little girl, you get lost on the way to daycare?" one asked, leering unpleasantly at Annette.

"You need help getting back?"

"Oh, wait, you're just a little freshie, aren't you?"

"That's a pretty serious offense. What'll we do?"

"How about find her a new home? A trash can, maybe?"

Annette grasped Wolfgang's hand again, and he turned to see what was wrong. The sight of the leering students was enough to let him fill in the blanks. The blank stare turned into a dangerous glare in under a nanosecond.

"Were these boys bothering you, Annie?" he asked evenly, still staring at the offenders.

"No, man, we were just having fun-"

"Yeah, we didn't mean to insult yer sister-"

"Do you want me to kill them for you, Annie?" A glance at an excitedly nodding Annette made him smile for a moment. "The lady has spoken. What're your last words, gentlemen?"

"Oh, God, please don't kill us-"

"We never meant to hurt her feelings-"

"We're sorry, kid-"

"My name is Antoinette, you bastards."

Wolfgang's expression slipped to shock for a moment before the cool mask returned.

"Oh, look. You've pissed her off now. Are you going to apologize, or do I have to teach you a lesson?"

"We're sorry!"

"Forgive us!"

"Whaddaya think, Annie?" The teenager grinned.

"You can kill them later if my father doesn't get to them first. But I don't want to disrupt the lesson, so leave them alone for awhile, alright?"

"Got it. No killing until after class. Seems fair. Enjoy your last hour and a half of life, boys."

Annette grinned and turned back to the front of the room, glad to have the situation defused. A moment's hesitation, and she let go of Wolfgang's hand. He seemed relieved and examined the marks left by the girl's nails. For a little kid, she had a strong grip-and TALONS.

"Are you really going to kill them later?" asked Annette awhile later.

"Probably not. I think Kayako's already got them on her list, anyway. It's not very smart to interfere with her little vengeance schemes."

"I believe I've taken a liking to this little group of yours..."

"Hey, kid, you got a ride home?"

"I can walk."

"No, we'll figure something out. Come to the commons after you get your stuff, okay?"

"I've already got everything I need with me."

"Good. Then it'll make things that much easier. Where do you live?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It's a street close here, and the house is 777."

"You mean that one with the boarded-up windows and the loose soil that people say dead bodies are buried in?"

"That would be it."  
"Cool. Toni lives right near there. She should be able to give you a ride. Tom and Kayako already go with her. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you very much for your help."

"Don't worry about it, Annie. We can't just leave a budding young Goth chick to suffer by herself. You must be nurtured and warped to your full potential."

"You are very kind."

The grin on Wolfgang's face was shared by Annette. They had a silent chuckle at the thought of warping the girl's mind before a sharp reprimand from the teacher caused them to abandon their conversation. Then it was all work and no play for the next hour.

"Hey, Toni, the kid doesn't have a ride home. She lives in the House of Death. That's right on your way home, isn't it?"

Wolfgang set Annette down on the top of a section of lockers. The teenager he had spoken to started and fell off of the pile of backpacks she had been perched on. A muffled curse, and Toni finally comprehended what had been said.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Man, Annie, you live in THAT house? Nice. But yeah, I'll take you home. Tom and Kayako should be here any second, and then we can get going. How was your afternoon, Annie?"

"It went rather well. Wolfgang was very nice and threatened to kill some bad people for me. The teacher is mean, but she's a good teacher nonetheless. I believe I'll actually learn something in that class."

"O...kay...Wolfie, you remember that Kayako's got dibs on those boys in your geometry class, right?"

"Of course. And Speaking of, Kayako and Tom are approaching."

Kayako had skittered across the banks of lockers around the commons, closely pursued by Tom. She stopped next to Annette, slowly brought her head up, and gave the girl a stare completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. The dead eyes were unfocused, and a black-painted mouth gradually dropped open a fraction, allowing a hiss of air to be taken in. Then a flash, and Kayako smiled.

"Konnichiwa, Annie-san. Did I scare you?"

"Oui."

"Sorry about that. Ready to go, Toni?"

"Yeah, Kayako, we're ready. Annie's coming with anyway. She lives in the House of Death."

"Seriously?" Tom gave an evil grin and mimed hanging himself. "Isn't that where all those people went missing? They said the guy that lived there killed himself like, what, ten, eleven years ago or something."

"Oh, well, Squee said that Nny died once. But then he got better, so everything's okay again."

The silence that followed alerted Annette to the idea that maybe some things were best left unsaid.

"Well, uh, let's go, then, I guess..." Toni picked up her backpack and started off toward the doors. "Come on guys. See ya, Wolfie."

"See ya."

Annette smiled and jumped down from the lockers before following Toni. Kayako slithered down from her perch and darted after them, with Tom trailing behind. A moment, and when Annette looked back, Wolfgang was nowhere to be seen.

"So you really DO live in that house, right? You're not just messing with us, are you?" Toni's voice cut through Annette's reverie like a machete.

"Yes. Why are you all so determined not to believe me?"

"Well, that house is like, famous or something. It's just weird to think that somebody actually LIVES there, like it's a normal place." Tom's blue eyes were bright with an imagined idea of what life must be like for a girl in that house. "Are there a ton of severed body parts lying around?"

"Not usually. I clean the house at least once a week, though I have been slacking off lately...But I do not believe there to be any severed limbs lying about."  
"Lovely," breathed Kayako, her green eyes unnaturally glowing. "May I meet this father of yours sometime?"

"I do not see why you wouldn't be able to. Be warned, however, that he may kill you if you irritate him. Hopefully not, as it would be a shame to have one less friend, but I suppose people don't stay around forever."

The chilling words effected a silence that lasted until the group was in the car and well on their way to Annette's home.

"So, uh, then...music, anybody?" Toni just had to break the silence.

"How about Zombie?" suggested Kayako.

"Yeah, your theme song, too, Kay."

"Shut up."

"Zombie it is, then." Toni slipped a CD into the stereo and grinned as the pounding bass started off the disk.

Then there was a perceptible shift in realities, and they turned onto Annette's street. Even the music dropped a notch in volume. It was like one of those horror movies where they turn off the sound just before something scary happens. So Toni just turned the volume right back up again.

The car pulled into the driveway, and Annette disembarked the wheeled vessel the second it came to a more or less complete stop. Kayako slithered out after her, presumably to make sure she would be able to get in the door. The others just waited in the car.

"Thank you for your help, Kayako. And thank your friends for me as well. I suppose I'd better go inside. Goodbye. I hope to see you tomorrow." Annette bowed and opened the door.

No lights were on inside. It was deathly silent-except for the occasional scream of overwhelming pain and despair, but you get the idea. Kayako peered around, wondering if anybody was even home.

"Back already, Annette?" The sudden noise made Kayako jump. "Well, I suppose it _is_ three in the afternoon. Who's your friend?"

"Her name is Kayako, Nny. She and a number of her friends were assisting me today. Please refrain from killing them, as I've taken a liking to them." Annette turned back to Kayako. "Goodbye."

"Jaane, then. I suppose. See you tomorrow." She turned to leave, then stopped. "By the way, do you guys have anything wickedly sharp that I can have? My parental units confiscated my katana."

Annette pulled a pair of daggers from the other side of the door. "Here you are. They work quite well. Now you should go. Your friends are waiting for you."

"Hey, kiddo, they're your friends, too."

"I know."

Kayako finally took the cue and left.

"How was skool, Annie?"

Now it was Annette's turn to jump. Nny was standing directly behind her, completely stationary, almost inanimate. He glanced down at her expression and managed a small smile.

"I repeat. How was skool?"

"Oh. I made some friends. They helped me find my way around the building and kept the bad people away. One of them even threatened to kill some boys that were bothering me. And I have Squee's old French teacher, so I am fond of that class."

"Do you want me to-"

"No, that girl who came to the door already has plans to kill them. She can take care of it."

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then. Do you need food now or something?"

"Non, I already ate today."

"Whatever. I'm going downstairs. Care to join me?"

"Maybe later. I have much homework to complete."

"Fair enough."

And Nny drifted off to the basement.

Annette was left to herself once more. She had started to convince herself that perhaps this time would be different, that today might be a day when Nny actually held a decent conversation, but no. That was too good to be true, and she knew it. The rational part of her mind was telling her that Nny would never be able to hold a conversation with another human being without going completely psycho.

"Now what?"

Annette sighed, dropped her bag onto the ground, and turned back toward the door. She grabbed the house key from the nail on the door and left. Where would she go? She had more than enough money to get her by for a long time, and Jack and Sally were clutched in her hands. There was nothing on the planet that could threaten her now.

So where DID Annette go? The pet store, of course! She entered the noisy shop with a large smile on her face, and immediately the entire place went silent as the grave. Annette went to the cages full of cats and browsed, not in any particular hurry.

Oh, my God! cried one of the cats to another. It's another one! 

Another what, mother? mewled another, a kitten.

One day, more than ten years ago, a skinny giant who looked like he didn't eat enough came in here and bought a rabbit. THAT WAS NOT A GOOD DAY! And this female looks just like the evil one! Hide, my children! If any must die, it shall be me! Your future it too bright! You have much to look forward to! Save the future! 

"Hey, Jo, we're gonna put those cats down tomorrow, right? They been here too long. You wanna do the honors?" drawled one of the kids working at the store.

"Those poor kittens? No! You kill them," cried Jo.

"Those cats are gonna die tomorrow?" screeched Annette.

"Yeah. They're too old and they're loud."

"I'll take them."

"ALL of them?"

"Yeah. Even the mother. I think the kittens will be happy to be with her."

"Uh, okay. You got enough cash on you, little girl? And where's your parent or guardian? We gotta check with them before we finalize any sales."

"Is this enough?"

Annette threw a wad of money at the cashiers. They counted it, their eyes widening steadily at every hundred.

"How about you take that much and forget that I'm not twenty-one, eh?" Annette's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Uh, yeah, go ahead. Take em all. You want anything else?"

"Are there any other animals slated for euthanasia soon?"

"Uh, well, there's a couple Chihuahuas and a ferret that were gonna be put down next week."

"And that boa constrictor."

"Yeah. Uh, did you want-"

"Yes, I believe I'll take those, too. I won't be paying any more. Is that alright with you?"

"Y-yeah, go ahead. Take em all. Did you need help getting them home-"

"I'll manage. Give me some leashes and harnesses, will you?"

And so five minutes later, Annette left the pet store with ten shivering animals under her protection. The boa gave her some trouble, but a quick meal of rats calmed it down enough to be worn around the girl's shoulders. She walked home quickly, as it was slightly brisk out and the snake was very sensitive to climate.

"What shall I name you all? Mother cat, I believe you already have names for your children, correct? Care to let me in on the secret?" She stared at the cat for awhile before giving a small grin. "Alright, then. The black one is Midnight? All of them are black, cherie. No matter; I'll find out soon enough. The dogs are a different matter. I'm thinking Madness and Chaos. And the ferret should be Slyther. How about you, boa? Do you like...Warp?"

The snake gave an approving hiss and settled its head down into Annette's hair. The other animals gave sounds of general approval and acceptance, though the mother cat was still a little uneasy. She gave a small purr and snuggled closer to her offspring in the box in Annette's hands.

Nny still wasn't upstairs when Annette returned. She carefully deposited the box onto the couch and unwrapped the boa, looking around at the dark, dreary place.

"Well, Mother Cat, there are plenty of rats for you and your children downstairs. Please don't let them roam too far, though, alright? There's plenty down there that would spell trouble for a young chat. Hmm...Mere is a good name for you, I think. Alright, Mere, care to tell me their names yet?"

Mere just gave an irritated mew and snuggled with her kittens. Annette smiled and turned to the dogs, who just shivered at the sight of the huge snake a little ways off. The ferret was glaring daggers at the dogs, who had probably been cruel to her as an infant.

"Oh, come now, cheris. You are unreasonable. You can all catch rats and insects downstairs. Do not squabble already. If you insist on being this way, I'll have to separate you. Is that what you want? You want me to separate you? Because I will. I WILL separate you if you cannot get along? "

At this, the animals fell silent. There was the sound of footsteps going up the stairs, and Nny reappeared at the basement door.

"What the hell are these things doing here?"

"Er, well, they were going to be killed, so I took them in...I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. They'll be good for catching rats. Damned things nearly swarmed me once today. Have you named them yet?"

"Well, er, the snake is Warp, and the ferret is Slyther. I've named the dogs Madness and Chaos. The mother cat is Mere, and she hasn't told me her kittens' names."

"Midnight, Ebony, Darkness, Death, and Fear."

"Pardon?"

Nny gave her a level stare. "Those are their names."

"Oh. Er, thank you."

"Are you sure you don't want to come downstairs?"

"...Actually, yes, why not?"

"Good girl."

Annette washed her arms and face much later, wondering if the bloodstains would come out of her sweatshirt. She hadn't killed the cheerleader. Nny was the one who had driven a screwdriver through the girl's head. All Annette had done was remove the limbs that insisted upon flailing around while punishment was being dealt. Still, it was enough to get her fairly covered in life. She took a moment to admire the beautiful red painting her skin, marveling at the perfect color produced by such vile creatures.

"Annette, are you hungry? It's late."

"No, I already ate earlier today."

Nny appeared in the doorway. "Annette, you're a child. You should be eating more. Come on, let's go out for dinner."

"Why the sudden change of heart, Nny? You feeling like you haven't been doing a good enough job on the parenting end of things?"

"No. I haven't eaten in a week. I assumed you'd be hungry as well. Shall we?"

"Yes, just give me a moment to change into something else."

"You look fine. Let's go before I pass out again."

"Fine, fine. Don't rush me, father." Annette straightened her choker and left the bathroom.

Walking was much preferable to driving. Annette kept two paces behind Nny at all times, clutching her dolls tightly. Of course, her attempts at looking innocent didn't go over too well, what with the blood and the black. At any rate, they walked down the street. And stuff.

And they passed a crowd of people who were running the other way. And screaming. Annette stared after them wonderingly, but Nny barely gave them a glance.

They found what the people had been running from at a taco place. Blood splattered the windows, and the sounds of screams and groans permeated the air. Annette found this to be quite interesting...

"What the hell happened here?" muttered Nny. "Did I black out again?"

"It looks like somebody's inside."

There were strains of a song coming from inside the restaurant. Closer inspection revealed a young woman seated at a table, eating a taco and murmuring to herself. She looked up when Annette approached.

"Oh, hello, Annie. Care to have a taco?"

"Who is that?" Nny stared distastefully at the girl. "And why is she holding one of my daggers?"

"Er, Father, this is Kayako. Kayako, this is Nny. Er, what exactly happened here?"

"Oh, some freaks just pissed me off. Those kids in your Algebra class won't be bothering you anymore." Kayako smiled. "Did you want those knives back, Nny?"

"Go ahead and keep them. I've got more. So is this one of your little friends, Annette?"

"Oui, Monsieur."

"Good. I like this girl. She'll be a good influence. Tacos, Annette?"

Annette smiled and nodded. She watched Nny disappear into the back kitchen thing and reappear seconds later with a handful of tacos. They sat down across from Kayako and began to eat.

"So, Annette, Nny, how have you been recently?" Kayako's eyes glanced with a friendly air between the two. "Anything out of the usual happen?"

"Not really. Annette brought home a few pets, but other than that..."

"Yes, I found out that some animals were to be killed soon, so I bought them. Six cats, two dogs, a ferret, and a snake. I wonder how they're getting along?"

cut to house-

The cats snuggled closer to the ferret while their mother roamed the basement in search of food. The boa had already consumed a few rats, and the dogs were currently huddled in a corner, shivering.

back to the story-

"How fun. I wish my parents would let me have a pet. But after the incident with the cat, they decided that I wasn't fit for taking care of anything."

"What happened?"

"Er, well, I found out why it was that cats don't like water. I'll just leave it at that." The green eyes closed for a moment, and her fair skin darkened.

"Oh. Nny had a similar experience with a rabbit. Except instead of water, it was a hammer and some nails. Poor thing. Oh. Maybe I should keep the kittens away from..." Annette gave Nny a sideways glance. "Oh, nevermind. How about you, Kayako? Anything going on with you?"

"Not really. I'm still in therapy. My last psychiatrist had to leave suddenly. They still haven't found the body. Anyway, other than that, I'm still just as screwed up as ever. Thank you for asking. Oh, by the way, Nny, Annie told me that you kill people a lot. Care to explain?"

"Not especially. Those vile sacks of dung don't deserve that amount of attention. It's simple. I kill them because they're the scum disguising themselves as humans."

"Fascinating. I kill because they hurt me. Or because they annoy me. It's all the same once you really get down to it. They're still dead either way. Oh, Annie, it sounds like the police are here. You'd better get going."

"What about-"

"I can handle it. I've been through this before. Jaane."

"Um, goodbye. Come on, Father, we should go."

"I'm coming. Kayako, if you need weaponry, don't hesitate to ask. This could get very interesting."

"Many thanks. I could always use a good knife or two."

"Father!"

"Don't call-"

"Just come on."

Annette dragged her father away from the restaurant, looking for all the world like a terrified victim.

"Hey, Annie! Come on over!"

Annette cautiously approached the small group located in the very center of the commons. Toni grinned and gave her a small hug, welcoming her back into the circle. Kayako was nowhere to be seen, but she soon popped up directly behind the girl and announced her presence with a death rattle. (aka the Grudge noise)

"Hello, everyone. How are you today?" Annette was quickly lifted up onto one of the stone blocks in the commons, therefore reducing the height difference significantly.

"Bien, merci." Ben grinned. "Et toi?"

"Tres bien, merci. Everyone else?"

"Good."

"I'm okay."

"Intact."

"Alive."

"Tired."

"...o...kay? I think."

"Lovely."

"Hey, Annie, whatcha listening to?" Remi grabbed at Annette's headphones, and the girl handed them to her.

"It's this cello-rock group called Rasputina. They're a Goth chick duo right now with a Goth dude as the drummer." Annette wrapped her tongue around the strange syllables, all-too aware of how ridiculous they sounded coming from her mouth.

"Awesome. Never heard this stuff before. Where can I get their CDs?"

"Pretty much any music store."

"Nice. I hafta remember to check them out."

"I've got their debut CD at home, Remi. You can borrow it if you want to burn a copy," offered Eric.

"Sweet." Remi handed back the headphones and put her own over her ears. "I got 'Tallica on now. Mix CD of their old stuff."

"Zombie," breathed Kayako, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Of course, Kay. Green Day for me today." Ben tapped her headphones.

"Drowning Pool," was Tom's input.

"Flogging Molly," laughed Ben.

"Disturbed," added Wolfgang.

"Yeah, you are," teased Remi. "I'd have thought of you as more of a Rammstein kind of guy."

"My kid sister stole my Rammstein CDs, so I stole this one and her Linkin Park CDs." A glance at Annette's questioning expression, and he added "She's well on her way to being a Gothic punk. Her name's Kenza, and she's in eighth grade. You'd probably like her."

"Fascinating." Annette checked her watch. "Not to interrupt anything, but the bell is set to ring in two minutes."

Eric swore and darted off, not even bothering to say goodbye. It was well-known that his first class was all the way across the skool and on the second floor. Kayako bid a hasty farewell and slithered off into the crowd. She too had class across Skool. The others drifted off one by one, not having to travel quite so far. Ben and Annette were the last to leave, sprinting to the English classroom and diving through the door just as the bell rang.

"And-SAFE!" crowed the teacher, laughing and nearly falling off of her chair. "Get to your seats, girls. We have to start class."

Annette bowed and hurried to her desk, which was conveniently situated next to Ben's. Her friend followed close behind, giggling silently to herself. The teacher just shook her head and began writing the day's lesson on the board.

"That teacher talks too fast," muttered Annette, struggling to record what the woman was saying.

"Yeah, but she's nice. Just ask her to slow down a little. I'm sure she'll understand."

"Perhaps. Er, Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we going to be in the same classes next term?"

"We'll worry about that when next term rolls around, okay? Just concentrate on today. Don't even give tomorrow a thought, and give yesterday the finger. It's me philosophy, and it works wonders." Ben grinned. "So don't worry, okay?"

"Okay. Why is everyone getting out their textbooks?"

"Turn to page 34, Annie."

"Oh. Alright."

Annette sat through the rest of class with a somewhat stupefied look on her face. By the time the bell rang, she was unsure whether the teacher was speaking English or some strange form of Japanese. Ben had to nudge her to get her to stand up and go.

"Erm, Mrs. Stevenson, er, I'm, um, having some trouble in class," stuttered the girl, assisted by pokes from Ben.

"Really, dear? I thought you were doing very well."

"Er, I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?"

"I said I thought you were doing very well in class."

"Oh. Er, well, you see, I cannot quite manage to..."

"She don't understand the words that yer jabbering at two hundred miles an hour. She needs you to try to slow down or write on the board more or something." Ben, who was quickly growing impatient with Annette, explained the sitch in the only way she knew how: direct honesty.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Antoinette. I didn't realize that you were the foreign student the principal mentioned to me. Of course I'll try to slow down."

"What did she say?"

"She's gonna slow down."

"Oh." Annette turned back to the teacher and smiled. "Merci beaucoup. Er, Ben, we should probably..."

"Yeah. See ya, Mrs. Stevenson. We gotta go. Thanks a ton."

And they were out the door in a split second.

Author's note: whew! it's been awhile since I've done one of these. I just felt the need to address one very irritating issue. Two of me fics were deleted because i put meself in the story and had non-story-related notes. First off, Raven in this story and in Along Came a French Girl IS NOT ME. Raven is her own character, a chick working at Hot Topic. In fact, Raven's probably not even her real name! If it makes the administration happy, she'll be known as...I dunno, KARASU from now on! Would that be better?

And as for non-story-related notes, how the hell do they figure that? Every note in me fics pertains to the story! Even THIS one! I address issues in the stories and tell background on certain scenes! For GODDESS'S SAKE, PEOPLE!

But SERIOUSLY, what the hell have I had on me fics that's so damned horrid? I don't even CUSS like some people do in their fics-no offense, as I loved a lot of those stories. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of killing, but WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT! I mean, come ON. "JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC." Yeah, there's a little kid assisting in murder, but that's why it's rated PG-13, BAKAS! er, i should go before I get people pissed at me. anyway, I think Raven will be referred to as "Karasu" from now on, and until next time, enjoy "gone the way of my sanity."

raven (note: all content in this note pertains to the story, so PLEASE don't delete the damned thing.)


	4. Skoolyard Fights, Jail time, and Looking...

"Hey, freak."

"Yes?"

Toni and a preppy senior were engaged in a battle of wits after fourth hour. Most of the students were filing off, but the Gothic freaks Annette hung out with were still there, forming a ring of support around the fighters. Annette watched with wide eyes, listening to the insults barrage Toni and her friends.

"I thought you had to be in shape to be Gothic."

"Is that so?"

If anything could be said about Toni, it was that she wasn't anorexic.

"Who the hell did your hair, anyway? A blind butcher?"

"That was pathetic. I'm not gonna start a fight with you. You're not worth it."

More, harsher insults were thrown at Toni. The prep's friends had formed a half-circle around their fighter, and they glared at Annette and crew with an amused malice that rivaled the prep's. At each passing moment, Toni's face gained a hue of red.

And she wasn't the only one. The boy had just gotten past the fat jokes and was starting in on the lesbian insults when Annette took a glance at the others. Tom was clenching the strap of his messenger bag, leaving tears in the heavy fabric. Eric was digging his nails into his palms, trying to restrain himself. Ben had gone white and appeared to be groping for something to attack the boy with, and Remi was gripping a bottle of soda as if ready to use it as a club. Wolfgang's face was unreadable, but the glint in his eye would have made anyone wary of the mechanical pencil he held loosely in one hand. Kayako was completely stoic, her eyes burning green.

"And I bet your little Jap bitch is-"

Speaking of, the boy was blindsided by a screaming, flailing, tearing Japanese girl named Kayako. She immediately knocked him to the ground and tore at his throat, leaving bloody gashes in the soft flesh. Her free hand slammed into his stomach, his chest, his face, anywhere she could land a blow. An unearthly death-rattle rose from her throat, and the green eyes were glassy, glazed over.

Of course, the boy was fighting back. He managed to kick her off of him and into the group of preps, who rapidly fired off a few punches themselves. They were overcome by Annette and crew, who restrained and held them in very painful positions. The fight was not theirs; it was strictly between the two enemies.

Finally, Kayako gave the last blow. She launched herself into her foe, clamping her teeth around the teen's fist, and bit down hard. She was ripped away by Wolfgang, who apparently had a thing against biting. She spit out the blood and gave her vanquished enemy one last murderous glance before turning calmly to her friends.

"You may want to get the nurse," she stated calmly, wiping the blood off on her sleeve. "I think he might have a broken rib."

"...Whoa." Toni blinked and let go of the tall, football-player-type kid she had been restraining. "What exactly just happened?"

"I taught the boy a lesson." A distasteful frown, and Kayako examined her already-swelling wrist. "Hmm. Would one of you be so kind as to retrieve an ice pack for my wrist? I think it's sprained."

"Uh, yeah. Damn, Kay, you're gonna get expelled this time."

"Not if it was provoked and he fought back."

Annette looked from Kayako to the prep to Kayako again. "Erm, thank you for defeating that menace, Kayako. I only wish it had been done less physically."

"That's the only thing those baka ningens understand, kid. Uh, Wolfgang, be a dear and let me go, will you?"

With a murmured apology, Wolfgang released the girl and stepped back, a look of wonderment on his face.

"Are you okay? I've never seen you act like-"

"The boy seems to be unconscious, and his little friends have scattered. Someone should take him to the nurse. He's bleeding all over the carpet."

Ben and Eric hefted the fallen prep between them and began the short drag to the nurse's office. Kayako followed, closely tailed by Wolfgang, who seemed wary of another outburst. The others trailed along behind, Annette and Toni bringing up the rear.

"Are you alright?" asked the girl quietly, catching sight of Toni's bright eyes.

"I'm...I'm fine. It's just that people do this a lot. Torment me, I mean. Heh. I feel so weird saying that to a twelve-year-old. At least Kayako was willing to defend me. I'm too scared of getting in trouble with the skool. More my parents, though. They'd kill me if I did what she did."

"It's quite alright, Toni. People are irritating. Only isolated groups of them are good enough to stick up for each other. You just happed to have found six of them."

"Seven."

"Yes, I suppose I'm in this group as well, eh? Don't let them bother you, Toni. But if you need to work out some aggressions, stop by sometime after skool. My...father would appreciate the help."

"Why do you keep hesitating before you say that word?"

"Pardon?"

"You always pause before you say 'father.' Is that for any particular reason?"

"Not really. He doesn't like formal terms like that. He prefers to be called Nny."

"Weird. Do you think Kayako's going to get expelled?"

"I highly doubt it."

The group reached the nurse's office and astonished the woman at the desk with their burden. She rushed to get bandages and soap, not even pausing to ask why they were dragging in a bloody teenager. Ben and Eric dropped the boy onto a chair and sat down with the group in a corner. Kayako came forward to sit near her enemy, probably to indicate that she too was injured.

"Get him over here. How deep are the cuts on his neck? How long ago did this happen?" The nurse appeared with a pile of bandages and some antibacterial soap wound-cleaning stuff.

"Uh, the cuts are just scratches, and this happened about three minutes ago," Remi informed, not looking at the prep.

"What did this to him? Did a dog attack you outside?"

"One, he's not our friend. Two, it was NOT a dog." Wolfgang glanced over to Kayako, who had gone stoic again. "Uh, she'll get pissed if you call her a dog."

"Oh. Which one of you did this?"

Kayako raised her hand. "It was I. Of course, I assure you I had a perfectly good reason to do so."

"Oh, for God's sake. When will you kids stop having gang wars in skool?"

"It wasn't a gang war. That boy was verbally assaulting my friend and our group. Kayako ended it physically." Annette's expression was unreadable.

"I'm going to call the principals. You stay here and watch the boy. If you try anything, we'll have you arrested."

The nurse darted off to a phone far away from the Goths. None of the teens stirred, save for a quick glance among themselves. Annette put on her headphones and started to listen to the Social Distortion CD Eric had allowed her to borrow. The noise was a wonderful method of blocking out unpleasant thoughts.

"The principal is on her way, kids. Now why don't you tell me exactly what happened?" The nurse sat down next to the prep and checked the bandages, not looking at the Goths.

"That boy was insulting us," murmured Annette. "He said the most awful things, including racial slurs. Then Kayako got mad and attacked him. He fought back, though. Then Kayako bit him and stopped beating on him. His friends ran away."

The door opened, and a flustered-looking woman entered. "What have we here?"

"This boy was taunting the other children, here, and this girl became angry and attacked him." The nurse gave Kayako a condescending look. "They apparently think of the attack as justified."

"Kayako! _Again?_ You are going back to therapy, young lady! What exactly happened?"

"That...baka ningen was insulting my friends. Then he had to go and start in on the racial slurs. He called Ben a...very condescending term for African American, and he told Remi she was a half-bred prostitute. Poor little Annie was labeled the bastard child of a harlot. He called me a Jap bitch. I decided that that was enough and ended his assault with force."

Kayako's eyes were blank along with her face. The principal shook her head despairingly and searched the girl's face for any shred of remorse. Nothing made itself apparent.

"Very well. Kayako, I expect to see you in the counselor's office tomorrow morning. You will have in-skool-suspension for two days, and continue to see the counselor for two weeks. That boy over there gets two weeks of in-skool suspension for his foul mouth. Mrs. Day, take care of their injuries. I have a meeting to go to."

And she left. Mrs. Day sighed, looked at the boy, and muttered something that sounded like a curse. She tossed an ice pack to Kayako and sent for a nurse to get a bed ready.

"Get out of here. All of you. Kayako, I swear, someday you're going to be in over your head. Now get going."

The group stood and took their leave. Outside, they burst into laughter.

"Nice one, Kay," giggled Ben.

"I thought you were gonna get expelled for a second!" Eric cried.

"Don't scare us like that!" Tom was barely coherent from the hilarity of it all.

"It was nothing. Are you okay, Toni?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Kayako. I'm sorry that bastard insulted you guys so bad. Annie, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. That boy couldn't have been farther off the mark when he turned his barbed tongue toward me. I almost feel sorry for him. He didn't know what he was getting into."

"Come on, kid, I'll take you home."

"No, let me." Kayako gave Toni a sweetly evil look. "She and I have much to discuss."

"Whatever. That okay with you, Annie?"

"Yes. Goodbye, everyone."

"See ya!" the others chorused.

"Hey, Annie," muttered Kayako when they were in her car a few minutes later, "mind if I come in and have a chat with you and your dad?"

"If he doesn't mind, neither do I."

"Good. I think we all gotta discuss the best course of action on this little matter."

Kayako's car pulled into the driveway, the engine sounding deathly loud against the utter stillness of the house and yard. Annette skipped up to the door, dodging irregular piles of dirt and the sign "Keep off the Loose Soil: It's Impolite to Walk on the Dead!" to ring the doorbell.

"Yes?" The door opened a crack to reveal a narrowed eye.

"Nny? I'm sorry to be so late, but there was a conflict at skool. May my friend Kayako come in for a moment?"

"Of course." A broad smile appeared on Nny's face, and he wrenched the door open, slipping a dagger back into its sheath. "Are you really late? What time is it?"

"After four." Kayako bowed and followed Annette inside. "Nice place."

"I'm going back downstairs. Scream if you need anything-"

"Wait, Father. Kayako and I wish to discuss something of importance with you."

Nny paused for a moment, then shrugged. He shut the door, then lit a few candles to banish the darkness inside the house. Kayako looked around in wonderment for a long time before turning her gaze back to the ever-stoic Nny.

"Well? What did you want to talk about?"

"There was a fight at skool." Annette smiled. "Kayako took care of it."

"Did you kill the bastard?" Nny queried casually, as if referring to a troublesome spider.

"No, unfortunately. That's why I wanted to talk to you." Kayako paused, then continued. "I don't have any weapons of my own. The daggers are lovely, but I need something that won't attract attention."

"How about a few sporks?" suggested Nny.

"I have some, thank you. Perhaps a screwdriver would be good. And we have to work out a system. Would it be alright to give you a hit list?"

"I already have a hit list, but whatever. I don't give a damn. You need me to kill that kid or what?"

"No, I'll take care of him later...um...but I need something to get my homicidal impulses worked out. I'm wondering if maybe I could, I dunno, stop by once a week or something to assist you downstairs."

"As long as you don't get in my way, I could care less."

"Thanks a lot. I really need that. Um...I should probably leave you guys alone now. Bye, Annie. Goodbye, Nny."

Kayako bowed quickly and darted out the door.

"Come on, Annette. Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Some friends invited us over for dinner."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

Carpe Noctem

University of the Arts

founded 1313

"Seize the Night"

The elegant black marble sign caught Annette's attention in the midst of a wild tangle of trees and brush. A winding gravel drive ambled uphill and stopped short in the middle of a grassy field. The girl hardly noticed when they came to a stop, enthralled as she was with what lay before them.

It was a huge college, an ancient mansion in a forest. Black stone and decor graced the smooth, medieval architecture, and a flock of ravens could be seen perched in the trees all around them. Red curtained windows glowed bloody from the light inside, and shadows gathered in the wake of a dying sun.

It was beautiful.

"Come on, Annie. Stop gaping like an idiot." Nny opened the car door and stepped out into the cool twilight.

Silent, Annette followed. The pair approached the university, the younger all-too aware of how dwarfed they were by its size. The arched doors opened before Nny could lay a hand on them, and a smiling elderly woman greeted them.

"Greetings, children of the night. What brings you here?"

"Visiting some friends."

"Oh, how wonderful. Which dorm?"

"Thirteen-oh-six."

"Ah. Let me lead you there. It's a bit of a trek, but these old bones are up for some exercise. Follow me. Mind your feet; there's a few cats wandering about."

And the old woman darted off down the hall. Nny and Annette sprinted along behind, falling farther and farther behind. For a senior, that lady sure ran fast. Annette had lost sight of her altogether when they finally stopped to catch their breath.

"What the hell was that?" Nny wondered aloud, leaning against a cool marble wall.

"I don't know. But now we're lost in here. How are we going to-"

"Hello, slowpokes! We're almost there! Why are you just standing there? Let's go!" The old woman, who had popped up behind Annette and Nny, grasped them both by the wrist and took off, half-dragging her charges behind her.

All that Annette knew was that they were going up. Her feet kept hitting stairs. In no time at all, they came to a sudden stop. Annette stumbled a few steps before falling and landing in a crouch on the floor. Nny had managed to remain upright, but he too had continued on a few steps past the old woman. A smile, and the crone vanished.

"What the hell-"

Nny's indignant outburst was cut off by a door slamming open. Tenna tumbled out, nearly colliding with Annette. She took one look at the pair and giggled.

"Devi, Karasu, looks like Mary brought our friends up!"

Devi appeared at the door and smiled. "Yeah, looks like it. Come on in, guys. Kari's making dinner."

Annette stood and followed Tenna and Nny into the room. It was dim, lit only by candles, and the overall color scheme seemed to be black and red. Wooden floors caught the glow from the flames, throwing the light back up to form irregular shadows on the black and red cloth draped over the furniture. Posters were tacked up everywhere, and drawings and paintings covered every other available inch of the walls. A fire was roaring at one end of the giant room, at which a smallish figure was seated, stirring something in a pot over the flames.

"Oh, hey, guys." Karasu turned to face them, swiping her hair out of her eyes. "How's it going?"

"Well, thanks." Annette spoke for the both of them, noticing Nny's interest in the decor. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Dev, Ten, how're you?"

"Fine, Kari."

"I'm great! In fact, I could just SING!"

Tenna darted around, humming something to herself. The others watched her with mixed amusement and irritation. She soon lost interest in her game and wandered over to a laptop sitting on a table. Ignoring everyone, she began to type away, murmuring sentences to herself as she worked on her latest story.

"What is she-" Nny started, but Devi cut him off.

"She's a writer, believe it or not. I'm here for painting, and Kari's in the performing arts and cooking. This dorm only houses about four people, but it's nice. How's dinner coming, Kari?"

"Pretty good so far. We were out of the regular potatoes, so I used sweet potatoes. They're better, anyway. It should be ready in an hour or so."

"No one asked you for a culinary lesson, Kari. Who's up for socializing until whatever the hell she's cooking is done?"

Annette smiled and nodded. There was no reaction from Nny.

"Oh, fine then. I'm trying to be nice, but if you don't want to make an effort-"

Nny glared at Devi and sat down on the nearby couch. "I never said I wouldn't."

"Great. So, guys, how's l-"

"How's your spleen?" Tenna piped up from the corner.

"Fine, I suppose," Nny yawned. "I never really thought about it. You?"

"Great!" squealed Tenna.

"I am fine as well," murmured Annette.

"Good. I'm okay, too. I guess. Anything unusual happen around your part of town?" Devi was already running out of ideas.

"My friend beat up a boy for insulting me and our other friends."

"Well, then. That's, um, weird. Care to elaborate?"

"Her name is Kayako, and she's got homicidal tendencies. She became angry when a prep started in on the racial slurs and beat him until he passed out. It was pretty cool, actually. Except it was scary when she bit him."

"Wow. So you're making friends?"

"Yes. Kayako, Ben, Remi, Eric, Wolfgang, Tom, and Toni. Ben, Remi, and Toni are girls too. They're very nice."

"Cool." Devi grinned. "Glad to hear you have some people to watch your back. Er, when Nny isn't around, that is. You want to paint something, Annie? I've got an old easel and tempera paints in the corner."

"Alright." Annette hurried off to the easel, which had caught her eye the moment she had walked into the room.

"Okay," breathed Devi when Annette had gotten out of earshot. "So, Nny, tell me, how are things really going for you guys?"

"Fairly well. We stay out of each other's business for the most part, and everything seems to work out."

"You know, a kid needs attention."

"I don't need you giving me parenting lessons, Devi."

"Yeah, well...nevermind. Does she paint a lot at home, or is this just purely boredom?"

"She has nearly as many paintings hanging up as I do."

"Good. She's got something to keep her busy. How are _you_ these days?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Still an insomniac. Still a mass-murderer. What else?"

"No, I mean like emotionally."

"Apathetic."

"That's not exactly ideal when there's a small kid in the house. Are you sure you don't need help-"

"I'm sure." There was a dangerous glint in Nny's eye that immediately silenced the painter.

A time later, Karasu announced dinner, and the group found themselves seated at a low table.

"Dig in, kids!" announced the cook cheerfully.

The door opened, and Squee and Pepito entered.

"Hey, guys!" squealed Tenna, moving over to make room for the addition. "Come on, sit down! We're just gonna eat!"

"Hey, Squee, hey Pepito." Devi smiled. "These two are in the dorm across the hall."

"Awesome. Free food!" Pepito sat down and immediately began grabbing ridiculously large amounts of food.

"Whoa. Annie, you look...more dark than normal today." Squee did a double take before sitting down.

"My friend Ben showed me how to apply eyeliner in pretty designs."

"Okay, then."

Silence for a time, and everyone began to eat.

Annette was happier than she'd been in a long time. Everyone was together again. It was like coming home to a huge, dysfunctional family. Even Nny was talking pretty fluently-well, that was after his second cup of sake, but still. Devi and Nny were getting along remarkably well-but then again, Devi was on her second bottle of sake, so that might have accounted for something. Squee wasn't cringing from everything that moved, and Pepito had yet to scare Annette. Karasu and Tenna were just being insane, but that was perfectly fine. The warm, cheery atmosphere was enough to make the small French girl smile and talk as well.

And _that_ was perhaps the best thing of all.

_Daylight. Where am I? _Annette sat up and looked around. _How did I get back here?_

There was a thud and a strangled scream. Nny was back to his bad habits again. The light flooding into the living room was enough to give anyone an instant headache, and Annette was by no means exempt.

A sound on the stairs, and Nny slunk into the room.

"Morning, Annie. Sleep well?"

"Er...oui, I think so..." Annette didn't let any suspicion creep into her voice. Nny was definitely up to something.

"Well, I think I'll go out today. Do you want to come with?"

"Er, non, merci. I shall be doing homework. What day is it?"

"I don't know. Thursday maybe."

"I'm late for skool!"

"It's okay, I'll drop you off."

_Why is he so cheery today?_

"Come on, Annie. We're leaving in ten minutes."

_And why is he calling me Annie?_

"Annie?"

"What? Oh, oui. I shall be ready."

Twelve minutes later, Annette leaped out of the car and sprinted into the skool. A moment to sign in, and she checked her watch. It was during passing time, and she had ten minutes to get to Choir.

"Yo, Annie!" Ben caught the girl in a tight hug. "Where were ya? We were all worried sick!"

"I overslept."

"I know how that goes. Listen, Annie, um...Kayako isn't at skool today."

"Why? Did they expel her?"

"No...She's being charged with first-degree murder. That boy she attacked died last night. She apparently went back to finish the job and got caught."

"My God..."

"Excuse me, girls, but do you know where I can find a little girl named Antoinette?"

A heavy-set woman who looked to be of about forty years suddenly appeared behind the pair.

"Um...je m'appelle Antoinette..."

"Oh, good. I need to talk to you, dear. You come with me, alright? Your little friend can talk to you later."

Ben looked irritated, but she allowed Annette to be led into an office across the hall.

"Now, Antoinette...er, what should I call you, dear?"

"My...father calls me Annette."

"Alright. Annette it is. Now, dear, I'm a little concerned about you."

"Why?"

"Well, I know that you're an exceptional student, but I've also noticed that you seem to be associating yourself with the..._darker_ side of the skool population."

"Why would that be bad? All of my friends are very kind."

"Well, you're an impressionable young girl, and I just heard that one of your friends...got herself into serious trouble. And your other friends aren't exactly the best role models. That girl you were with, Ben, well...she's had some problems in the past. We're seeing her for counseling regularly. And that boy, Wolfgang, has been attending skool AA meetings since last year. I won't go into more detail. I think you can see what I'm hinting at."

"Don't you EVER insult my friends like that." Annette launched into a long bout of French reprimands.

"Calm down, Annette! I just want to see you and your legal guardian in my office tomorrow at the start of class!"

"My...father?"

"Yes, well, your file says that your guardian is one Johnny C."

"He's called Nny."

"Nny, then. But I still expect to see you both here. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand perfectly."

And so the next day, a very moody Nny accompanied Annette to the guidance counselor's office.

"Good morning, Annette. And you must be Nny." The counselor put on a huge fake smile and reached out to shake Nny's hand.

"Get those talons the hell away from me!"

"Er, fair enough. Now, Mister-"

"Nny!"

"Nny. It has been brought to my attention that your daughter has been hanging around with some rather dark people at skool. Did you have any knowledge of this?"

"Well, hell, of COURSE I knew that! Why? Do you have a PROBLEM with her friends? That Kayako girl is a perfectly upstanding role model!"

"That's what I was afraid of. You see, Kayako was just charged with first-degree murder."

"Already? Damn, she must have been lazy. I would have thought that the girl was smarter than that. Getting caught..."

"You mean you have...no problem WHATSOEVER with this?"

"SHOULD I?"

"Er, yes."

"Screw you."

"Excuse me? Sir, if you don't behave in a more respectful-"

"WHY SHOULD I RESPECT YOU? YOU DEFY RSPECT! ALWAYS TREATING OTHERS LIKE SLIDES UNDER A MICROSCOPE, BEING SO DAMNED SMART AND YET SO BLIND! WHY THE HELL SHOULD YOU EVEN BE ALIVE? I SHOULD JUST RIP YOUR FU-"

"Father, please try to keep a civil tongue."

"But Annie-"

"Father, I believe it is time for us to take our leave."

"An-"

"Goodbye, Madame Counselor. Come along, Father."

Nny surprisingly allowed himself to be led out of the office. The astonished counselor was left with an empty room and a head full of screams pounding against her skull.

_Dear Diary,_

_My father became very angry today. This is the first entry I've written in a very long time, and I've chosen to write it about this. I must be going insane. In fact, I believe I already AM insane. How could a sane creature stand to live in a place like this? No, no, this is about my father, not my questioned sanity._

_Anyway, he started yelling at the guidance counselor today. After we left, he took me home. Then he went out again, so I called Ben. She had her cell phone on and told me that Wolfgang would be there shortly to take me to a movie. I think they were trying to make me feel better._

_It seems strange to think of Wolfgang as an alcoholic. He's quite scary, to be sure, but it just doesn't seem right. Perhaps that is why he's trying to quit. And Ben...I wonder what problems she has? Kayako I expected to be caught, but...No. One thing at a time._

_I had a relatively nice day, all things considering. I got to see the new Ring movie, and I even got free food! Food is good. But when I returned home, Father was still not there. Wolfgang sat with me for awhile, but he had to get to work, so I'm alone again. Nny is sometimes very irritating to live with._

_I wonder if that's why Devi still hasn't married him?_

_That's an amusing thought. Nny and Devi getting married. The two can barely stand each other. Ah well. One can dream._

_Where is my father? The sun set a long time ago. I'm starting to get worried. Mere cat is sitting in my lap and purring. She and her kittens have grown quite fat in the short time they've been here. The dogs are still scrawny, though I think that's just how their breed is. The ferret is roaming the basement now, searching out any helpless rats it can lay paws on. The snake is probably killing one of Father's victims now. I think it likes the job. A demonic snake. Charming._

_Where is he? The sun is almost rising. I can't stand it He's been gone this long before...but I'm still worried. I hope he comes back soon._

_-Antoinette _

The phone rang, startling Annette out of a fitful sleep. Things chasing her, screaming, falling, pain, and the overwhelming feeling that there was something horribly wrong. Annette gasped and jolted upright, sending a startled kitten tumbling to the floor.

"Hello?"

"Annie?"

"Devi? What-"

"Oh, thank God you're there! I was so worried! I tried calling four times-"

"What? Why are you so panicked-sounding?"

"Annie, stay calm. I'm coming over."

"Why-"

"Just pack some things in a bag or two. Things you really like. You're going to be staying at the dorm for a little while."

"Why? Did something-"

"I'll be there in half an hour. Get packing!"

"Y-yes...Devi..."

"Good girl. See you soon."

"Salut..."

"Salut."

Annette dropped the receiver to the floor. A strangled scream, and she ripped the cord out of the wall. What was going on? A pause, and she raced to her room.

"What to take..."

She hurriedly threw some of her more treasured clothes into a bag, pausing only to drape as much jewelry as she could over her small frame. A shirt was covered in buttons, and she tossed her journal and some pens in after it. Jack and Sally, her skool things. More items flew by in a blur, and by the time Devi knocked on the door twenty-nine minutes later, Annette was nervously pacing near the door, trench coat whipping at her legs.

"Good, you're ready. Let's go. You'll like it at Carpe Noctem, you know."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. Just come on already!"

"What about my pets?"

"Get them fast!"

"Merci beaucoup."

Five minutes passed, and Annette loaded the last kitten into Devi's car. Then she jumped in, and Devi floored it.

"Why do I have to stay with you?"

"They are NOT putting you in a foster home!"

"Who's they?"

"The damned government! Those bloody whores don't know ANYTHING about kids...But don't worry, Annie, you'll stay with me and the girls. Everything's going to be okay."

"Devi, you're scaring me."

"I'm sorry, kid, but I'm scared too. Now please let me drive. Play with your pets or something. We're almost there."

Devi must have really been speeding, since they made it to the college in less than five minutes. Devi shepherded Annette and her pets to the dorm, volunteering to carry the bags and the boa in order to get her to move faster.

Karasu and Tenna were waiting. They gave Annette tight hugs that were obviously meant to be comforting and offered to make her something to eat. No one would talk about anything related to Nny.

Eventually, Annette allowed Kari to make tacos. The college student's face fell at the suggestion of such a simplistic meal, but she looked happier when Annette added nachos to the menu. Thirty minutes later, the four sat down to the most elaborate meal of tacos and nachos that Annette had ever seen before.

"Devi, Tenna, Kari, I'm sorry, but I really want to know what's going on." Annette sat down her taco and stared intently at the others.

"Er, well, we're not too sure ourselves..." began Devi.

"But we DO know that Nny isn't going to be back for awhile-" added Kari.

"-so you're staying here! Yay!" Three guesses.

"You're sure you don't know anything else?"

"Sorry, hon, but there's not much info right now. Let's just forget about that for a couple days, okay? Who's up for shopping?" Devi's eyes lit up in anticipation of all the art supplies she could get.

"Why not?" murmured Annette sadly.

Five hours and several thousand dollars later, the small group returned to the dorm. Squee and Pepito had already let themselves in-Pepito liked picking locks-and were watching cartoons on Tenna's laptop. A short fight ensued, and Tenna got her laptop back. The boys stood up and nursed their wounds.

"Never take a writer's laptop," laughed Devi, shaking her head.

"Shut up." Pepito conjured up a fireball and threw it into the empty grate at the end of the room. "Don't invoke my wrath!"

"It's an empty threat, and we all know it." Squee laughed. "And you have to admit, it WAS funny when she bit you."

Pepito just grumbled and hurled more fireballs at the hearth.

"So what did you guys buy?" asked Squee, ever the conversationalist.

"Paints, brushes, cooking supplies-" began Devi.

"I gots me a new set of knives!" squealed Karasu.

"I got a new thingy of software for my beloved laptop, and a fun battery pack that sucks energy from everything around it. It's awesome! I never have to recharge it!" Tenna inserted the new battery with a huge smile.

"That explains a few things..." Squee stared at the fire, which suddenly dimmed significantly.

"Yay! Full power!" Tenna hugged her laptop and danced out of the room.

"Okay, then. That was weird." Kari pulled out her new knives. "Anybody up for sushi?"

"Yeah, okay," muttered everyone else. Kari sure did get annoying with her gourmet crap.

"So, Annie, I hear you're staying here for awhile."

Annette's head snapped up at the mention of her name. She stared uncomprehendingly at Squee, then something clicked, and she nodded. A small thread of worry began to knot itself around her esophagus.

"Oui. But no one will tell me what happened."

"All I know is that Nny's gonna be in a hell of a mess for awhile. You'll probably be here for Christmas."

"Oh. Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not entirely sure."

This new tidbit was certainly slightly frightening. What would happen on Monday? Would she go to skool like it was a normal day? But how could she? She had no idea where Skool was, let alone how to get there. And if she didn't go, someone would probably call to check up on her. Then what?

"Annie? Annie? Earth to Annie."

Annette's eyes focused sharply on the image of Squee's face looking rather concerned. She smiled and laughed nervously to indicate that she was fine.

"Pardon. I was, how you say, zoning out. Er, I'm fine. You don't have to look at me like that. I'm not going to spaz out on you..."

"Okay, Annie, just checking to see what plane of existence you were inhabiting. You sure you're okay?"

"Yes."

"Um, Annie?"

"Yes?"  
"Why is there a ferret running around?"

"The ferret's name is Slyther. I bought it at a pet shop. And those cats. And the Chihuahuas. And that snake. Do not worry; they're really very nice."

"Okay, then. Kari, how's the sushi coming?"

"Almost ready!"

Devi grinned and stood. "We should set the table. Come on, Annie. Have you ever done this before?"

"Non..."

"Then it's time you learned."

Monday came almost without warning. A quick call to an old friend had Wolfgang at the dorm in a matter of minutes. Annette had to get ready an hour earlier than normal, but she didn't mind. Her trench coat had started to get too small for her, and a large portion of the money they head spent that weekend went toward buying a new, identical one. Thank you, Hot Topic.

"Bonjour, Wolfgang. Ca va?" Annette slipped on her coat and adjusted the numerous buttons covering the front of her shirt.

"Um...good?"

"Tres bien. You used an appropriate response! When are we leaving?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"One moment." Annette buckled her combat boots and hefted her book bag on one shoulder. "Ready."

"Okay. See ya, guys."

"Bye, Annie! Bye, Wolfie! Nice to see you again." Devi grinned. "Man, last time I saw you, you were a little Freshie. Didn't those preps throw you in a trash can on your first day? You were shorter then."

"Uh, yeah. Bad memories. I'm trying to suppress them. See ya."

Annette didn't say anything until they were on the way to Skool.

"Er, pardon me, but what exactly was that about?"

"Eh, I had some trouble my Freshman year. Squee and Kari scared them off for me. Then Devi sicced Nny on them, and...yeah." He smiled evilly. "Sometimes it's good to have scary friends."

"Oui."

And then the skool approached. A hulking brick figure, it was no less threatening that in had been a month and a half ago. The graffiti still covered the walls, and an ominous aura hung around the place for half a block all around it. Annette shivered.

"Annie! Yay! You're back!" Toni launched herself at Annette, threatening to run her over. "We missed you!"

"Hey, Annie." Tom grinned. "How's life."

Annette hesitated. "Well, erm, I'm staying with some friends for awhile while my...father is away. Devi and Tenna and Karasu are taking care of me at the art skool nearby."

"Sweet." Eric had popped up from God knows where and was sitting on a stone block nearby. "Squee was there too, right?"

"And Pepito."

"Ah, Pepito. God, that kid was a riot." Remi smiled fondly at the memories.

"Remember the time he set fire to that sub's wig in French? God, that was _good._ And when he started calling up spooky minions to terrorize the Freshies...Man, I miss that." Toni grinned. "You must be having fun."

"I am...But do any of you have an inkling as to what is going on with my...father? I haven't seen him since Friday." Annette tried not to let her apprehension show. She gripped her dolls tightly, twisting a lock of Sally's hair around one finger.

"Um...well, Kayako gave us an update on Saturday..." Eric looked away.

"What kind of update?"

Ben jumped in. "Well, er, member the one call you get in jail? She used hers to call me, and between me and Toni, we networked everyone in so she could talk to us all at once. We tried your place, but you must have already been gone."

Wolfgang's turn. "She said she'd seen Nny. He was in the cell block one wing over from hers."

"So that means..."

"Nny's in jail, Annie." Remi hugged her again. "Sorry, but it's the truth. Kay says he's being charged with a LOT of first-degree murder."

"Oh...Well, when is he coming back?"

There was a silence.

"Uh, Annie, he's not coming back. Conviction gets a life sentence."

Annette stared back, uncomprehending. Nny wasn't coming back? How could that happen? He had to be there. The Wall Thing would get out if he wasn't there. He had to come back. No matter what they said, he was coming back.

"Annie? Are you okay?"

Annette's eyes focused with a jolt, and she smiled. "Of course, mon amis. I am fine. Let's talk of something else, shall we?"

"No change?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Uncanny."

"What, the prisoner?"

"Not exactly. The Japanese girl in the next cell block...her condition is almost identical."

"Interesting. Have either of them eaten?"

"No, neither of them have eaten since they got here. That or slept."

"Insomniacs?"

"Looks like it. He's been here before, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Psych ward. The guy was a total nutcase. Anybody we put in a room with him ended up dead in minutes. Scary part was, we couldn't figure out how he did it. Then they found a bedspring lodged in one guy's chest cavity."

"Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. So don't give him a cellmate, okay?"

"I definitely won't give him a cellmate."

The two doctors continued their discussion, unaware that the man they were referring to could hear every word that they said. He almost smiled, but caught himself just in time. Those disgusting little pricks. They were so high-and-mighty. How lovely it would be to stab them with their own pens. But there would be time for that later. For now, he was content just to sit here and muse about life's nagging little questions.

_I wonder if I could get a shot in from here? That bitch's forehead is large enough to land a plane on._

Nny quickly dismissed the idea. It would be too messy. Most likely, he'd have to face armed guards. Lots of them. It would take too much effort to get out. No, he would have to kill them later.

"Look, he moved!"

"No, that was the vent."

"Oh. Is he dead?"

"No, look, his chest is moving."

"I thought that was the vent."

Nny slowly turned his head to stare at the pair. They paled and took a step back simultaneously. A terrifying smile froze them in place.

"Good evening, ladies. You know, if I was you, I'd be MUCH more careful about what I said around murderers. They might just take offense."

The women nodded and fled, leaving Nny to himself. He allowed himself a small smile before returning to his reverie.

_I wonder if Annie's doing well? More than likely. She can take care of herself. But perhaps I should use that phone call...no. She's fine. But what if she's not? No, she can take care of herself! She doesn't need anyone watching her all the time. All the same..._

"Damn." Nny stood and walked to the barred door of his cell. "Can I get a phone call?"

_Ring. Ring. SCREECH!_

"Hello?"

"Devi? Is Annie there?"

"Uh...yeah, actually. Why?"

"Could I talk to her?"

"Why?"

"Devi, just give her the damned phone."

"Fine, fine. Don't get all pissy with me."

"Hello?"

"Annie?"

"...Nny?"

"How are you?"

"...Fine."

"Good. I assume Devi's taking care of you?"

"Yes. How are you?"

"About the same. Nothing really different. I'm in prison, by the way."

"I heard."

"Oh, okay. Your friend told you, I assume?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not sure how long I'll be here..."

"I give it two weeks before they kick you and Kay out. Have fun, Father."

"Oh, I will. And so will Kayako."

Nny hung up, grinning evilly at the jailer. A quick glance at Kayako, then-

"I don't suppose you happen to have a spork, do you?"

The jailer looked back and forth between the two.

"Oh, sh-"

Author's note: There ya have it, folks! This chapter is officially over with! I mite make an epilogue or smthg, but for now, IT'S DONE! YAY! eh, whatever. I'm gonna write more with Annie and Nny, don't worry. man, im rambling. I gotta go sleep now. bye bye.

Raven


End file.
